2024 Session Wrap Up
03.14.2024
The 2024 Oregon Legislative session is over, and the best we can say is “it could have been worse.”
(This sounds a lot like what many Republicans tell us when we question their actions… “well the Democrats are worse.”)
Of course, no session would be complete without the passage of at least one more bill attacking your gun rights.
This session it was SB 1503. We told you about this bill here. And as we told you then, “Republican” Senators (Hansell and Anderson) joined the attack on your rights. Now a new and endless stream of your money will be shoveled over to the anti-gun extremists at the Oregon Department of “Justice” to prepare reports that will say we must ban guns. You can take that to the bank.
When the session closed we received a raft of mass emails from Republican legislators lauding “bipartisanship.”
The Democrats chimed in with this bizarre quote: “As Speaker, Rayfield fostered a culture of respect and bipartisan collaboration, establishing an open-door policy of over-communication–in agreement and even more so when in disagreement–and Disney-level customer service.”
We are not sure what that means but it does demonstrate a remarkable lack of self awareness. When you have total dictatorial control and the “opposing” party refuses to step up, you really don’t have to make sense.
Republican Senator David Brock Smith gushed “Thank you to Governor Kotek, Ways & Means Co-Chairs Steiner and Sanchez, President Wagner, Leader Knopp, Leader Lieber, Speaker Rayfield, Leader Helfrich, Leader Fahey, the members of the Legislative Veteran’s Caucus and the House Committee on Emergency Management, General Government and Veterans for your support. Thank you to U.S. Senators Wyden and Merkley, Congresswoman Hoyle, and my legislative colleagues for your support, and a special thank you to our new ODVA Director Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels for her incredible leadership and support.”
Notice only two “Republicans” were thanked in that obsequious and fawning display of groveling.
Democrat Senate President Rob Wagner, who refused to allow excused absences even for religious or medical reasons, and thereby ended the legislative careers of some of the best Republican Senators, absurdly quipped:
Republican House Rep Jamie Cate wrote: “I will say that this session had its ups and downs, but ultimately there was a fair amount of bipartisanship which led to constructive policy work and the passage of nearly half of the legislation introduced at the start of session.”
Not to be outdone, even Republican candidates got into the act.
Former Republican Senator Bruce Starr, who is now running for the seat soon to be vacated by Brian Boquist after he and others were sold out by the Republican Senate “leadership,” was quoted saying “I applaud the Governor for listening to the public and I am eager to help craft an alternative transportation plan in the next legislative session.”
(As is so often the case, Starr is behind the curve…)
When Starr last served in the Senate he was videotaped promising anti-gun groups more anti-gun legislation. Comically he told OFF in a meeting years ago that “half the people in his district supported gun control”. We asked him then which half sent him money. Fortunately his attempts at new gun control bills were thwarted.
And speaking of retreads, as we have noted previously, failed Governor candidate (and horribly failed House Republican Leader) Christine Drazan, is back in the mix attempting to reclaim the House Seat she abandoned in her bid to be Governor.
The seat is currently held by pro-gun stalwart, and former Marine, James Hieb. Because of his uncompromising conservative views, his Republican colleagues have done everything they could to undermine him, even trying to convince him not to run for election to the seat he was appointed to. But he did run and he did win. And since that election he has stood on the House Floor making statements no other Republican had the courage to make.
Drazan, the darling of the failed Republican establishment, asked Hieb to drop out of the race, because, well you know, it is her seat.
Drazan will be remembered as the single most disastrous “leader” in Oregon Republican history. Not only did she refuse to walk out when the Democrats were stomping all over the rights of Oregonians, she regularly voted for their worst bills.
She voted twice for tampons in the bathrooms of kindergarten BOYS and then made false claims that the bill had “been changed” after she voted for it.
She voted to protect one of Tina Kotek’s staffers when she was arrested at an antifa riot.
She voted to hamstring the police and ban “ropes with loops at their end.”
After Derek Chauvin was falsely convicted of killing drug addict felon George Floyd, Drazan tweeted “Guilty. Justice is served.”
She led the expulsion of House Rep Mike Nearman who was convicted of a CRIME for opening the doors of the Capitol to the people who own the building. And, after happily cashing checks the Oregon Firearms Political Action Committee wrote to help elect good candidates, she stated on the House Floor that OFF was a “rogue organization.” But she didn’t send the money back. Speaking of money….remember this?
With primary elections coming up, gun owners will once again have the unenviable job of trying to determine which candidates will do the least damage to their rights. As you know, some of the best have been locked out of running again, if not in this coming election then the next one.
The Oregon Republican Party continues to do virtually nothing to weed out the frauds like Kevin Mannix and Charlie Conrad or the countless other “Republicans” whose only goal is to get along. One bright spot however is House Rep Dwayne Yunker who was appointed late in this session to replace Lily Morgan who quit the legislature mid session.
Yunker, another former Marine, has been calling a spade a spade. In an end-of-session email, Yunker wrote “The show of seeming bipartisanship came from the House floor, of course. But because the Democrat majority party controls every legislative committee, bills don’t get hearings unless the Dems want them to pass. Agreement and cooperation usually mean going along to get along. I guess after last year, no one wants to hear an unfair “Do Your Job” ever again” …“The Democrat majority is laughing”.
Yunker also listed the far left groups that will be getting your money:
• $65,000,000 – Project Turnkey
• $25,000,000 – Albina Vision Trust
• $7,000,000 – Urban League of Portland
• $5,265,823 – Bridges to Change
• $3,000,000 – Unite Oregon
• $1,400,000 – 4D Recovery
• $1,250,000 – Center for African Immigrants and Refugees Organization
• $1,000,000 – Seeding Justice
When Yunker voted against HB 4002, the supposed “fix” to Oregon’s legal drug wasteland, he filed a “vote explanation.” As he noted, after the Democrats removed his vote explanation from the record : “The Democrat majority removed it from OLIS. They say I impugned their integrity. Who, me? I’m sure their motives are pure.”
Not bad for the new guy…
(Update… even Kotek approves…https://www.koin.com/news/politics/oregon-governor-kotek-housing-drug-epidemic/. )